The Queen
(Photo from Pixabay)
I grew up American, so I don’t have the same welter of feelings about the monarchy as many people who grew up in the UK.
The role of the Queen here seems an impossible job. She meets regularly with the Prime Minister, accepts the resignation of an outgoing PM, accepts a new PM into office, but although she can offer advice, she must not say or do anything political. She attends all manner of events as a head of state, yet has no say over how the country is governed. The Queen’s Speech announces policy ambitions of the government for upcoming months or years, and she cannot influence those ambitions or say whether she approves of them. She is tremendously wealthy, but what she can do with her wealth is highly constrained. She served as a mechanic and driver for the military during World War II, yet now the media focus on what she wears, how she looks, where she appears and whether she says anything that might have a political inference.
The list goes on and on like this, full of contradictions and tightrope walks and quandaries.
On one hand, the Queen is always there, no matter how turbulent the times. On the other hand, her role is to serve as a figurehead with little power.
Whether or not the monarchy should still be around, Queen Elizabeth is still around. Her successor is waiting to step in, but she has not retired. She acceded to the throne in 1952 when she was only 25. She’s 96 and still on the job, the oldest and longest-serving British monarch in history. Her coronation was 2 June years before I was even born. This is her Platinum Jubilee.
Her role is narrowly bounded. I can’t put blame on her for how unseemly it looks to have a national party at huge cost while simultaneously saying we can’t afford to feed our hungry or raise up our poor when it wasn’t her decision to make. She was born into that impossible role and has done what she could with it for an amazingly long time. I admire her dedication.
Long live the Queen.
May she get to have some rest, some peace, in whatever time she has left on this earth.
Good morning!
Thank you for this; I wasn't aware of how constrained the Crown was and wonder- in a half-hearted way- how the position went from being the person whose very word was law, to being merely a figurehead.
I feel a fondness for her, mainly because she reminds me of my grandma, whom I miss dearly.
Have a great day!